Longford Local Election 2024: Council issue statement on Register of Electors

As Friday's polling day bears down on voters the issue of discrepancies in the Register of Electors has been addressed by Longford County Council.

Canvassers have spoken of multiple names on the register for single houses, with instances of over 20 names on the register for some addresses.

In a statement to the Longford Leader the local authority stressed that measures will be taken to ensure the integrity of the register: “There are properties in County Longford with multiple electors registered. This can sometimes occur where there is a turnover of occupants and the electors have failed in their responsibility to update their details to reflect their new address on the Register of Electors,” a council spokesperson said.

The issue of the potential for voter fraud in the forthcoming local elections was raised at the January meeting of Longford County Council.

Back then one local elected representative said the availability of online registrations up to 10 days before the election presented “a danger of fraud”.

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In 2009 there were 1,921 people added to the supplementary register in the Longford town council area in the run up to the election and almost half of them (961) were foreign nationals.

Following a number of queries Gardai set up an investigation into claims about fraudulent voters on the supplementary register and claims that voters were paid to vote.

In 2014 the issue of irregular additions to the supplementary register were also raised. Just prior to the 2019 elections elected members stressed the importance of maintaining an accurate register of the electorate.

Also read: Longford local election votes will once again be tallied in TUS Athlone

In January the Department of Local Government moved to clarify the situation where people currently entitled to vote remain on the register – without providing further information – after incorrect wording was used on a government website.

In today's statement Longford County Council highlighted measures the public can take regarding the register: “If anyone has reasonable grounds to believe that an entry in the register about another person is inaccurate, they may submit a Third Party request to the local authority and the necessary procedures will be followed to investigate the matter and amend where necessary.

“A Third Party request (Form TPC1) may be downloaded from www.checktheregister.ie.”

Voters are reminded to bring their polling card and identification to polling stations to ensure they got to cast their vote.

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You should bring some ID such as driving license, PPS card, or passport. A full list of acceptable ID is available on electoralcommission.ie. Acceptable ID is also listed on the back of your polling card and includes:

• a passport;

• a driving licence;

• an employee identity card containing a photograph;

• a student identity card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph;

• a travel document containing name and photograph;

• a Bank or Savings or Credit Union book containing address in constituency;

• a Public Services Card;